Enterprise: plant of listeria, leaks hysteria
● Health concerns at Tiger Brand’s Enterprise factory in Polokwane are not limited to the listeria outbreak: 33 employees at the factory had to be admitted to hospital last month after they were exposed to an ammonia leak.
Ntata Sekgota, deputy secretary of the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers in Limpopo, confirmed the leak.
“On February 19 we had ammonia, which I assume is used for other preparation of the products. For human consumption, it’s dangerous. It leaked and this led to people being admitted,” said Sekgota.
Limpopo health MEC Phophi Ramathuba said 60 employees who were on night duty had been evacuated from the factory, with 33 of them admitted to hospital.
Ramathuba also took a swipe at Tiger Brands management for noncompliance with health regulations. “. . . These standards must be adhered to,” she insisted.
Of the about 450 workers at the plant, 400 were union members.
Some of the employees at the plant still needed counselling as they were scared that they might have been affected by listeriosis.
When staff reported for work on Monday, a day after Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi ordered a recall of the polony made at the factory, they were told to return home and take unpaid leave, they said. “We told management they cannot let employees go home at their own expense. The workers are traumatised [and need] counselling.”
Sekgota criticised the company for not enforcing strict safety regulations inside the plant, citing the fact that there were no guidelines about how many times an employee wore safety clothing.
When the Sunday Times visited the plant this week, employees were present, with some cleaning inside using hosepipes.
Security was tight, but a bakkie carrying two passengers wearing protective clothing and white boots was allowed in. Pallets of what appeared to be cleaning chemicals could be seen inside the yard.
On the other side of the plant, a group of customers came in and out of its factory shop, returning recalled products.
Abraham Thema said he had bought R200 worth of products on the Friday before the recall announcement. He told the Sunday Times he had not been reimbursed because he did not bring the polony, but had a receipt on him.
“I was at work when the announcement was made. I quickly called home and told them to throw those products away, because I was scared my kids might eat them.
“I have the till slip as proof of purchase — and they say they cannot give me my money back,” he said.
White Seleise said he was turned away because he brought polony that did not have Enterprise branding, but insisted he had bought it from the Enterprise factory shop.
“I bought these Snax products just last week here, but now they are refusing to refund me,” said an outraged Seleise.
Polokwane municipal manager Dikgape Makobe told the Sunday Times in an interview it was not in the council’s mandate and competency to inspect the facility.
“The function of dealing with health-related issues in that factory . . . is a function that has been allocated to higher government spheres, like the district, and it is a function that is more of a national competency,” Makobe said.
Tiger Brands spokeswoman Nevashnee Naiker said 48 staff had been sent for observation and minor treatment at nearby hospitals after an ammonia leak from the factory’s large refrigeration unit.
“The incident occurred during the startup operations . . . after a municipal electrical interruption [in] . . . February. Full investigations into the cause . . . [are] under way.
“Large refrigeration units require registered installation, which include that standard emergency procedures are developed and well-communicated to staff.”